The Way of Young Men
by Meicdon13
Summary: ONESHOT, AU :: Sanzo is a ninja hired to kill Kougaiji. However, his bodyguard, Goku, is a more than capable samurai. Increasingly frustrated at his failed assassination attempts, Sanzo decides to change tactics. :: Sanzo x Goku x Kougaiji


**Disclaimer: **_Saiyuki_ never has, and never will be, mine.**  
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Warnings: **…WTF-ery? Cross dressing. Slight violence. Bondage.**  
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Author's notes: **I apologize for any mistakes in the fic. All info was gathered from Wikipedia and we all know that it can't be 100 reliable. And I might have misunderstood the articles. And I might add that I feel like one of those badfic authors who insert random Japanese words in the middle of the story. Though I can hardly write "one skilled in the art of stealth and almost being unseen" instead of _ninja_. For information regarding _shudou _(_wakashuu _and _nenja _too) go to Wiki and look for _Shudo_. Beta by **xcerpted**.

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**THE WAY OF YOUNG MEN**

"I want you to kill Houtou Kougaiji."

"I thought you already hired other people to do this for you."

"And they failed. I won't make that same mistake again. That's why I'm hiring you."

Sanzo looked at the _daimyo_ sitting across the table and set down the cup of tea he was pretending to drink. "He's one of the most powerful _daimyo_ in this region. Do you have any idea of how hard this job will be?"

"Yes. And that is why I am willing to pay a very big amount of money for you and your people to accept the job." Jiroushin's steady gray eyes met the _ninja_'s violet ones and the blond felt respect for the other man. Jiroushin's wife sat beside the _daimyo_, seemingly not paying attention to their conversation. It was strange for a woman to be present at such a meeting but it was rumored that Kanzeon was actually the one who held the power in the Bosatsu clan.

Sanzo looked at his fellow _ninja_ sitting beside him. Hakkai was holding his cup, his usual pleasant smile on his face. He inclined his head slightly at the unasked question Sanzo was directing at him. _It's up to you if you want us to accept it._ Sometimes he wished the brunet didn't defer to his judgment so much.

"Fine," he said. "We'll take the job. Give the details to my companion. I need to use the restroom."

Kanzeon stood up gracefully, the folds of her _kimono_ falling around her. She bowed to her husband and Hakkai before walking out of the room, motioning for Sanzo to follow.

When they were a few feet away, she smiled at him, blue-gray eyes filling with what the _ninja_ thought of as unholy light. "How are you doing, Konzen? Business going well?"

Sanzo scowled at his aunt and responded sharply. "I'm not Konzen anymore, you old hag. And what the fuck do you care about what I'm doing with my life?"

"I care because I'm your mother's sister and you're my nephew. Also, I want to know who you work for and if you're ever going to hire yourself out to my husband's enemies. You'd do well not to. I'm still better at you in _ninjutsu_."

The blond chose to remain silent, following his aunt until she stopped in front of a closed door. "Don't be too long," she said lightly as she opened the door for him. "And tell your friend to be quick about it. Also, it's a disgrace for him to have been caught by my servant."

Sanzo growled as he practically slammed the door behind him. He walked over to the room's window and opened it. A redhead stepped out of the shadows, dressed in dark blue. "Her servant told her you were here," he snapped as soon as the other _ninja_ was close enough.

"Whose servant?" Gojyo asked. "And how'd she see me?"

"Kanzeon's. She trained all the damn women here." Sanzo's eyes narrowed. "Enough of this. Well?"

"No hidden traps or anything threatening in the entire place. Looks like they've got no intention of double-crossing us or anything."

"Good." Sanzo turned around. "Get going, cockroach. Hakkai and I'll be done in a few minutes. If you're not at the rendezvous point when we get there, we'll leave you behind."

"Aaw…I was thinking of picking up—"

Sanzo closed the door behind him as he left the room. Kanzeon was leaning against the opposite wall, a smirk on her face. "That took longer than expected." She stood up straight and began walking back to the meeting room, expecting Sanzo to follow. "How do you feel about a permanent job serving my husband?"

"If it means seeing you almost every day, I don't think so."

_**xxx**_

"Do you feel awkward about being my _wakashuu_?"

Goku fidgeted on the _tatami_, hands clasped on his lap and his head bowed, not looking at the redhead sitting on the mat beside him. He glanced nervously at the older _samurai_. Kougaiji was looking out the open window at the full moon, his entire body radiating calm.

"We won't do anything you don't like," the redhead said. "We could concentrate solely on your training."

"But it won't be the same!" Goku cried out, surprised at his own outburst. "If my friend Nataku can go through this with his _nenja_, then so can I!"

"Are you talking about Homura?" Kougaiji asked, leaning forward and supporting his chin on his palm, his elbow on his knee. "He's told me that things have been going well with them."

Goku sat up straighter and finally met Kougaiji's gaze. Gold locked onto lilac and the brunet said, "Teach me everything you know, Kougaiji-_sama_."

_**xxx**_

"So when are we going to go and…see this Houtou guy?" Gojyo ran a hand through his long red hair and smiled at the waitress refilling his cup of _sake_. She blushed and practically retreated behind her tray after putting down the jug on their table.

"Is there anything else you need, sirs?" she asked shyly.

Gojyo opened his mouth—probably to ask what time she got off from work—but Hakkai discreetly elbowed his side. The redhead winced and said, "No. We've got everything." She bowed and then walked away.

"Aww, 'Kai. What was that for?" he whined.

"Shut up and eat unless you want me to shove a _shuriken_ down your throat," Sanzo snapped. He glanced around to make sure that there weren't any people listening to them. The small restaurant was filled with people and the noise was unbelievable. "We're going to go see Konran first. Houtou's been hiding since that bungled attempt on him a few weeks ago."

"And since Konran's one of Houtou's closest comrades, he's been asked to watch over Houtou's properties and interests here," Hakkai added. "He probably knows where our target's staying."

"I really hate being the dumbest one in the group," Gojyo groused, picking up a bit of meat with his chopsticks and stuffing it into his mouth.

Hakkai laughed and patted the redhead's arm reassuringly. "Well, we all have our purposes in life."

The three finished their meal in silence, each of them thinking up a plan of attack. They exited the restaurant after paying for the food, stepping outside into the warm afternoon sun. They were wearing normal clothes and blended in with the crowd.

Gojyo was the first to speak. "Do you want to do it the hard way and break in or do you want to do it someway else?"

"Why waste our time climbing up trees or walls when we can just ask one of Konran's men for a key?" Hakkai asked amiably.

"Leave me out of your plan," Sanzo deadpanned immediately.

_**xxx**_

"_Why am I the one in women's clothes?_"

"Because you're the only one with long enough hair. Kanan can't do anything with mine or Sanzo's. Now keep still or your make-up will be ruined."

Hakkai and Sanzo sat a few feet away, checking their weapons. Gojyo fidgeted while the green-eyed man's sister applied more colored powder to his eyelids. The redhead scowled and tried to loosen the _obi_ he was wearing, but his hands were immediately slapped away.

"Gojyo-_san_, if you loosen the _obi_ any more, your kimono will fall open and the guard will see that you're not a woman," Kanan chided.

"'Kai, why can't you send Kanan? She's almost as good as you _and _she's a woman!"

"I am not endangering my sister unless it's completely necessary."

Kanan adjusted the fall of Gojyo's hair around his face and stood up, smiling. "There! All done!"

Sanzo stood up, attaching the pouch with weapons to his waist. "Hurry up, princess, we wouldn't want to be late, would we?"

"Shut the Hell up! _You_ should be the one in this get-up!"

_**xxx**_

Zenon was sitting at his table drinking _sake_ and thinking that maybe he should've brought Shien along when a woman suddenly sat down beside him.

She was obviously drunk and had mistaken him for someone else because she was saying something about leaving her behind just when things were 'getting exciting'.

"Kai-_san_, that was very rude," she said, her words slurred. Zenon smelled alcohol on her breath and she was already a bit red.

"I'm sorry; you must have mistaken me for someone else. My name isn't Kai," the _samurai_ said patiently, prying off groping hands. Though the woman was pretty, he wasn't about to go and take advantage of her since she was obviously not in her right mind.

She was about to say something but chose that moment to lose her balance and fall onto Zenon's lap. Her red hair splayed out across his _hakama_ and the _samurai_ sighed before helping her sit up straight. Once more, he had to fight off wandering hands before he could stand up and politely leave.

"If you'll excuse me, my wife is waiting for me to get home," he said, bowing. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to go home and hug his beloved Mirei before going to sleep beside her.

As he walked away, he didn't see the triumphant gleam in a pair of red eyes.

_**xxx**_

"Homura-_sama_, what's that?"

Homura eyes continued to scan the letter in his hand as he replied absentmindedly, "Just a letter from Kougaiji. Also, Goku-_kun_ sends his regards."

The _daimyo_ and his _wakashuu_ were sitting on the floor in their bedroom, preparing themselves for bed. The windows and doors were closed and the only light came from two lamps on either end of the room. The light barely reached the area in the middle of their room where their _futon_ was positioned there. Both of their _katana_ were beside the mat.

Nataku climbed onto Homura's lap, his back against the older man's chest and his head tucked underneath the man's chin. "Homura-_sama_, it's late. You should go to bed."

The _daimyo_ wrapped a possessive arm around the younger _samurai_'s waist. "Why don't you just say that you can't sleep without me beside you?" he teased, nuzzling the top of the younger man's head. Nataku had let his long hair down in preparation for bed and it fell around him in black waves. Homura fingered a lock near his hand.

"Very funny," Nataku muttered, turning around in the older man's one-armed embrace and nipping the side of Homura's neck. "Is that letter really more interesting than going to bed with me?"

"Maybe," the _daimyo _said evenly, placing the letter on the floor and wrapping his other arm around Nataku's waist. "Maybe not."

The younger man placed his arms around Homura's waist and pulled him down so they could kiss. He moaned wantonly as the older man's tongue invaded his mouth, mapping the inside, and tangling with his.

"Oh God…" he breathed as Homura snaked a hand into his _yukata_ and wrapped a hand around his growing erection.

"Mmmm…call me 'God' again…"

As Homura shifted to bite Nataku's ear, the door to their bedroom slowly slid open. A choking sound was mostly drowned out by the wail the younger man just made. Homura, however, still caught the muffled laughter that followed.

In an instant, he had unsheathed his _katana_ and was in a defensive stance, standing between the three intruders and Nataku. "Who are you?" he barked, mismatched eyes hard. Behind him, he heard the younger _samurai_ reaching for his _katana_ as well.

"Sorry for interrupting sexy time," was all he heard before one of the masked figures attacked.

Homura barely evaded the _shuriken_ that flew in his direction before he blocked the attacker's _ninjato_. Their blades locked and as they struggled, Homura caught a glimpse of green eyes between the swaths of cloth covering the ninja's face.

Somewhere beside him, he heard a curse and the thud of sharp weapons embedding themselves into the wood of the floor and wall.

"Let's go! I've got it!"

Immediately, Homura's opponent turned around and sped off, leaving the _samurai_ off-balance for a moment. He debated going after them but instead turned around to check if Nataku was alright.

"What did they want?" the younger man asked as the _daimyo_ checked him for injuries.

"I have no idea," Homura replied tersely. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm _fine_, Homura-_sama_." Nataku bent down and picked up his _katana_'s sheath. "I'm just tired."

"Let me make sure that everything's safe before we sleep," the older man replied, walking out of the room and summoning his servants. By the time he was finished, it was past midnight. Extinguishing the lamps on either end of the room, he lay down beside Nataku, wrapped his arms around the younger man and went to sleep.

He only realized that the letter from Kougaiji was missing the next day.

_**xxx**_

The three of them squatted on the branches of a tree near the outside of the estate's surrounding walls. Three pairs of eyes watched the people inside moving around, doing their daily tasks.

"There's Konran's lackey," Gojyo said.

Hakkai looked at the man coming up the road towards Houtou's provincial house, took careful aim with his _kunai_, and threw it. The weapon hit the messenger's neck and before the dead body could fall to the ground, the three _ninja_ surrounded it and dragged it to the surrounding underbrush.

"Found it," Sanzo said, pulling a warning letter out of the messenger's grip. It simply wouldn't do if their quarry knew it was being hunted.

_**xxx**_

"Does it hurt?"

Goku smiled and replied, "I can barely feel it." The brunet winced when Kougaiji poked the bandaged area around his upper arm. He frowned at the smug smirk that appeared on the redhead's face.

"I thought you said you could barely feel it," the _daimyo_ said. He folded his arms across his chest and smirked at the expression that crossed the younger man's face. "Goku, you know that you don't need to pretend with me." He looked at the bandages once more. "And that you don't need to do those kinds of things for me."

"I'm your bodyguard, Kougaiji-_sama_."

"You're also my _wakashuu_," Kougaiji said firmly, "and you're also my responsibility. And I don't want you to take risks like that again."

"But the knife would have hit your heart!"

"You could have pushed me instead of using yourself as a human shield."

"And what if someone had thrown another knife and you were lying prone on the ground?"

The redhead laughed. "You are one stubborn little monkey."

"Don't call me a monkey!"

_**xxx**_

"You know, all that shouting can't be good for your blood pressure."

Hakkai tried to placate the seething blond as he raged around the small clearing. "We can always try—"

"I'm sick of this mission! I want to finish the fucking thing so we can pack up and go home!" Sanzo kicked a nearby tree in frustration. "We were supposed to be done days ago! But we hadn't factored in that asshole bodyguard!"

"You have to admit; he's good," Gojyo interjected from his position on the grassy forest floor. He placed his arms behind his head and looked up at the canopy of leaves above them. "And I saw how you were looking at his ass through those a-bit-too-tight-_hakama_, o blond one."

Sanzo yanked a _shuriken_ out of his pouch and threw it at the redhead. It narrowly missed the taller man, embedding itself on the ground where his thigh had been a moment ago. "Stop projecting your perversions onto me," the blond spat.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" Gojyo yelled.

"All this arguing isn't going to help us," Hakkai pointed out patiently. "We might as well do some recon today; try and learn about Houtou's personal bodyguard. If we find a weakness, then we can exploit it."

Gojyo ran a hand through his long hair. "Did anyone notice what time he leaves the place _if _he does leave?"

"He goes to the marketplace in the nearby town every other day during lunch time," Sanzo answered.

"See, 'Kai? While you and I keep an eye on the servants and the guards, Sanzo here just watches the kid! He's obsessed with the brat, I tell you!"

"That may be so, Gojyo, but at least we know what time we can follow him around." Hakkai stood up from where he was sitting and stretched. "Whose turn is it to go undercover?"

"Sanzo's," the redhead replied happily.

"Fuck you."

_**xxx**_

"Excuse me."

Goku turned around, hand on the hilt of his sword, and looked up at the blond man who had spoken. "Yes?"

"Do you know a place where I can get a decent meal?" The taller man was obviously not from around the area. His clothes seemed to be made of higher quality cloth than what the townspeople were wearing and his accent was different as well. Plus Goku was sure he'd remember someone who looked like that if he'd seen him.

The brunet smiled. "Sure, follow me!" He began walking towards the restaurant he frequented, moving easily through the crowd. Behind him, he could feel the blond stranger's presence, almost like a tangible thing.

It was a bit frightening; how strongly the taller man was affecting him. Goku felt a strange sort of nagging feeling somewhere at the back of his head telling him that this was a very important person, someone that he should keep close to at all times. Not even Kougaiji elicited such a response from him.

"Here we are," Goku said cheerfully, pushing away the strange thoughts. He was probably just hungry. "I'm about to eat lunch. Want to share a table?"

The blond considered the offer and nodded. The pair stepped inside the restaurant and was led to a table. After they ordered, Goku tried to ignore the way that the stranger seemed to be staring at him. The taller man's narrow purple eyes were fixed on his face; it felt like he was trying to memorize what Goku looked like.

Around their table, people were laughing and talking. The buzz of conversation only served to highlight how awkward their silence was. The brunet wanted to ask the taller man what brought him to this small town when he was obviously from one of the bigger cities but he thought that that would have been considered bad manners.

After a few more moments of tense silence, Goku managed to work up enough courage to speak. "So—"

"I'm Genjo Sanzo. What's your name?"

The abrupt introduction confused Goku for a moment but he readily replied, "Son Goku."

The waitress chose that moment to arrive with their food. "I'm paying," Sanzo said smoothly.

_**xxx**_

"You seem happy," Kougaiji noted idly. "Care to tell me why?"

Goku paused mid-step. He turned around and grinned at the redhead. "It's nothing. I just made a new friend."

The taller man blinked. Goku had been in a happy, bouncy mood—even for him—for the past week. And apparently it had been caused by a new friend; of whom Kougaiji had never heard of until now. The brunet always told him about everything that happened during his day.

"I'm assuming that you've been spending all your free days with this new friend, then."

"Yeah. I've been showing him around the town since he's not from around here." The younger _samurai_ paused then went on. "I've been trying to get him to come here so he can meet you, but he doesn't seem to want to."

Kougaiji shrugged. "Maybe he's shy."

"Probably," Goku agreed.

_**xxx**_

"You know, blondie, you've been dragging this thing on longer than it has to be."

"I have to agree with Gojyo on this one, Sanzo. It's almost been a month and I'm pretty sure that you know Goku well enough now to be able to plan something—"

Sanzo slammed the door shut behind him.

Gojyo sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Damn prissy ass."

The door to their room opened and Sanzo glared at the redhead. "I heard that, cockroach." Before the taller _ninja_ could reply, the blond went on. "Hakkai, I want you to burn down this inn."

_**xxx**_

"Are you really sure that it's okay for Sanzo to stay here?" Goku looked up at Kougaiji, his golden eyes anxious.

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine," the daimyo replied smoothly. "And he can stay in the guest room until he finds a new place to stay. He can wear my clothes; I think we're around the same height."

The brunet ran up to his _nenja_ and gave him a quick hug before running out of the room. "I'll go see if he's settled down yet," he called over his shoulder. The younger man thought he heard Kougaiji say something but by then, he had turned a corner. He skidded to a stop in front of Sanzo's door.

He slid it open and stuck his head into the room, a wide grin on his face. "Comfy?" he asked the blond man lying down on the _tatami_ near the opposite wall.

"I've stayed at worse places," Sanzo replied.

"Kougaiji-_sama_ told me that you could wear his clothes if you want to change," the brunet went on. "Oh, and dinner's in fifteen minutes. I'll come by and call you when it's ready."

"Hn."

The brunet shut the door behind him, not hearing Sanzo whisper a few instructions to someone crouching outside his window.

_**xxx**_

"I thought _you _were dressing up this time!" Gojyo hissed angrily.

"We didn't have time to buy something that will fit me," Hakkai said calmly. "And you look lovely in that _kimono_. I have to remember to thank Kanan. The red flowers really bring your eyes out."

"Hahaha. Very funny," the redhead snapped.

"Oh look. There's your first target. Go get him, tiger." Hakkai pushed Gojyo out of the concealing foliage and into the path of the guard on patrol. The brunet watched the tall man yelp in surprise as a disheveled redheaded 'woman' stumbled into his arms.

They were inside the Houtou compound and Sanzo had told them to get rid of the guards that might come running to the _daimyo_'s aid when the blond chose to strike. He didn't tell them if he wanted the guards killed or not so Hakkai had decided to knock them out, tie them up, and keep them somewhere safe. And Gojyo was his distraction.

And besides, Gojyo in women's clothes was a pretty sight.

The brunet sneaked up behind the guard and hit a pressure point in his neck, effectively rendering him unconscious. Gojyo caught the man before he could hit the ground and they dragged him back into the bushes near the garden's walkway so they could bind and gag him without risking being spotted.

"What's wrong, Gojyo? You look a little pale," Hakkai asked, seeing the expression on his partner's face.

The redhead pointed at the unconscious man. "This is my brother. I just pawed and flirted with my older brother."

"Well…you were technically not yourself. I mean, you're undercover as a woman and this," Hakkai patted the guard's shoulder, "isn't your disguise's brother. So no worries."

"How would you like it if you had to flirt with Kanan?" the redhead muttered.

Hakkai accidentally elbowed him while yanking on the guard's bonds to test them.

_**xxx**_

"Sanzo what—"

"You know what's annoying?" Sanzo asked, the anger in his voice evident. "The fact that even though you're with me, all you can talk about is Kougaiji."

Goku tried to say something but the blond went on, relentless. "It pisses me off. Everything is Kougaiji-_sama_, Kougaiji-_sama_, _Kougaiji-sama_."

"Sanzo, you're drunk. I told you not to drink so much _sake_. You need to sleep."

"I'm not drunk and I don't want to sleep. And you…you don't even know what you want, do you? I can see the way you look at your high and mighty lord and I can see the way you look at _me._ And it's the same, damn you!"

The brunet cried out in pain. "What are you talking about, Sanzo?"

"I hate you." The sound of cloth ripping reached Kougaiji's ears and he yanked the door open, not being able to just stand outside and listen any longer.

He saw Sanzo kissing Goku violently, his hands ripping the rest of the brunet's clothes off of his body. The blond lifted his head and glared before the world exploded in pain.

When he opened his eyes again, his wrists were tied up above his head and his legs were spread open. Goku's head was between his thighs and sucking his cock. Sanzo was kneeling behind the brunet, hips thrusting back and forth and hands on the smaller man's hips.

The blond was holding a _kunai_ against Goku's throat. "If you try to escape—if you try to move—I'll kill him," Sanzo said darkly, eyes narrowed and sharp in the room's lamplight.

"Why—" Kougaiji broke off, gasping, as Goku rubbed his tongue against the underside of his erection. His lilac eyes closed at the feeling, his hands clenching and unclenching in their bonds.

"Because he doesn't know what he wants," the blond growled, snapping his hips forward violently. Kougaiji was forced deeper into Goku's mouth as the brunet was pushed forward. The redhead fought not to thrust up into the warm mouth, not wanting to choke his _wakashuu_.

Kougaiji kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see what was happening, not wanting to see his failure at protecting the younger _samurai_. His _katana_ was on the floor a few feet away from them and the bonds around his wrists were tight enough to cut off circulation.

His eyes were closed but he could hear the slap of skin against skin, Sanzo's harsh breaths, Goku's moans and muffled whimpers. The brunet's hands were on his thighs, keeping them apart and keeping him from thrusting up into Goku's mouth. The skin-on-skin contact felt like it was burning.

And suddenly, he was coming, his orgasm ripped unwillingly from him. When he regained his senses, Goku had partially collapsed on him, the unconscious brunet's head resting against his thigh. Sanzo was still kneeling, looking at them with unreadable eyes.

"If you still want to kill me," Kougaiji said with as much dignity as he could muster, "you can. Just leave Goku alone."

"I'm not going to kill either one of you." The blond stood up and threw the _kunai_ to one side where it embedded itself into the floor. He squatted down beside the redhead and untied his wrists before standing up and putting his clothes back on.

"I don't think you know what you want, either," the _daimyo_ said evenly as he rubbed his wrists to return the feeling to them. Kougaiji wrapped his arms around Goku and cradled him against his body.

Sanzo left the room.


End file.
